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International Stage Beckons for Bayliss
©Racing Victoria
By James Tzaferis
Talented Victorian apprentice jockey Regan Bayliss will be given the opportunity to continue his meteoric rise through the riding ranks when he contests the final of an invitational race series in Abu Dhabi next week.
Bayliss will ride an Arabian galloper in the final race of the inaugural H.H. Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Apprentice World Championship in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, 9 November.
It comes after another in-form Victorian apprentice, Geelong-based Josh Cartwright, rode in the opening heat of the series in Sacremento in July.
A winner of 59 races since his debut in July last year, Bayliss has continued to achieve terrific results in the saddle and has attracted high praise from trainers and industry officials alike.
The 17-year-old shared honours in last season’s National Patient Transport Rising Stars Series, Victoria’s premier apprentice-only race series, and claimed his maiden Stakes success with victory aboard the Peter Moody-trained Quayside in last month’s Listed Tokyo City Cup (1800m) at Morphettville.
Bayliss will be accompanied by Apprentice Jockey Coach Matthew Hyland and Racing Victoria Athlete Development and Industry Career Advisor Mellissa Weatherley who will also participate in an international conference on apprentice education and training.
Bayliss’ trip comes in the same week that fourth-year apprentice Harry Coffey will travel to Macau to represent Racing Victoria in the Macau Apprentice Jockey Invitation Race (MAJIR) Series.
Originally scheduled for August, the MAJIR racedays at Taipa were moved to next weekend (7-8 November) due to an unusually brutal typhoon season.
18-year-old Coffey will take on apprentice talent from 15 other racing jurisdictions including New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.
This article first appeared on the Racing Victoria website and is reproduced here with their kind permission. For more on Off the Track visit http://rv.racing.com/the-horse/off-the-track/news
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